(OTTAWA) A former political staffer with the Conservative Party of Canada, Dion Ahwai, has been charged with mischief in relation to computer data, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced on Wednesday.
Posted at 6:15 p.m.
And sources say the charge is linked to an investigation into the alleged theft of documents from Erin O’Toole’s Zoom account during the 2020 leadership race amid the pandemic.
During that run, Mr O’Toole’s team had accused rival Peter MacKay’s camp of viewing and uploading videos that allegedly contained sensitive strategic information. Mr. MacKay’s team at the time denied the allegations and the O’Toole team then turned over the alleged data theft file to the RCMP.
After the allegations were published, Greg McLean, a Calgary MP who supported Mr O’Toole, fired a summer student in connection with the apparent offence.
But the O’Toole team maintained that they had detected several unusual logins to the Zoom account, as well as several uploads of what they considered confidential information.
The O’Toole team therefore referred the matter to the RCMP, and the federal police confirmed to the media at the time that they were investigating the matter, in conjunction with the Toronto Police Service.
The RCMP did not confirm on Wednesday the connection between the charge against Dion Ahwai and this investigation. But two sources familiar with the matter said senior officials from the former O’Toole team were notified by the RCMP on Tuesday of the filing of the charge.
The sources requested anonymity because they fear professional repercussions for speaking publicly. The Canadian Press was also unable to verify the connection between the mischief charge and the theft allegation.
The RCMP simply indicated that the “data mischief” charge against Dion Ahwai was related to obstructing, disrupting or interfering with the legitimate use of computer data, as stipulated in the section of the Criminal Code.
Parliamentary Assistant to a Member
Mr. Ahwai did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent to his work email address and via Facebook on Wednesday. He is due in Ontario court on August 4, police said.
A spokeswoman for Mr O’Toole said he would not comment as the matter is before the courts.
Dion Ahwai, a former House of Commons employee, is currently described as the vice president of digital campaigns at public affairs consultancy firm Wellington Dupont.
Former MP Brian Storseth, who was co-chair of the MacKay campaign during the 2020 leadership race, is a director at that consulting firm.
In an emailed statement, Mr. Storseth clarified that Dion Ahwai was not employed by Wellington Dupont at the time of the alleged data theft; he referred questions to Mr. MacKay’s campaign team.
Former MP Alex Nuttall, MacKay’s then-campaign manager and current candidate for mayor of Barrie, Ont., did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
According to House of Commons records, Dion Ahwai worked as Mr Nuttall’s parliamentary assistant in 2018.